Silicon Graphics OCTANE2 User manual

Dual Channel Display Guide for Silicon
Graphics Octane2™and Silicon Graphics
Fuel™Workstations
007-4209-003

CONTRIBUTORS
Written by Alan Stein and Eric Zamost
Illustrated by Dan Young
Production by Karen Jacobson
Contributions by Darren Au, Marc Hannah, Matt Hoy, Matt Humphreys, Niaz Khan, Jim Pagura, Ken Williams, and Zao Yang
COPYRIGHT
© 2002, Silicon Graphics, Inc. All rights reserved; provided portions may be copyright in third parties, as indicated elsewhere herein. No
permission is granted to copy, distribute, or create derivative works from the contents of this electronic documentation in any manner, in whole
or in part, without the prior written permission of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
LIMITED RIGHTS LEGEND
The electronic (software) version of this document was developed at private expense; if acquired under an agreement with the USA government
or any contractor thereto, it is acquired as "commercial computer software" subject to the provisions of its applicable license agreement, as
specified in (a) 48 CFR 12.212 of the FAR; or, if acquired for Department of Defense units, (b) 48 CFR 227-7202 of the DoD FAR Supplement; or
sections succeeding thereto. Contractor/manufacturer is Silicon Graphics, Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway 2E, Mountain View, CA 94043-1351.
TRADEMARKS AND ATTRIBUTIONS
Silicon Graphics, SGI, the SGI logo, Octane, and IRIX are registered trademarks, and Silicon Graphics Fuel, Octane2, and VPro are trademarks,
of Silicon Graphics, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. Envi-Ro-Tech is a trademark
of Tech Spray, L.P.
For regulatory and compliance information, see your Octane or Octane2 Workstation Owner’s Guide.

007-4209-003 iii
New Features in This Guide
This revision of the Dual Channel Display Guide for Silicon Graphics Octane2 and Silicon
Graphics Fuel Workstations adds instructions for operating and troubleshooting the Dual
Channel Display in a Silicon Graphics Fuel workstation.
Installation information for the Silicon Graphics Fuel workstation is not included
because installation must be performed by an SGI-trained technician, therefore the title
of the book was changed from Silicon Graphics Octane2 Workstation Dual Channel Display
Installation Guide to Dual Channel Display Guide for Silicon Graphics Octane2 and Silicon
Graphics Fuel Workstations.
Chapter 3, “Connecting Monitors to the DCD”, now includes instructions to connect to a
Dual Channel Display in a Silicon Graphics Fuel workstation.
Chapter 5, “Troubleshooting and Technical Specifications”, now includes instructions to
troubleshoot a Dual Channel Display in a Silicon Graphics Fuel workstation.

007-4209-003 v
Record of Revision
Version Description
001 October 2000
Initial version
002 November 2001
Added instructions to install the Dual Channel Display in Silicon Graphics
Octane2 Dual Head systems.
003 September 2002
Added operating and troubleshooting information for the Dual Channel
Display in Silicon Graphics Fuel workstations.

007-4209-003 vii
Contents
Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
About This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Related Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
Product Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
Reader Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
1. Installing the DCD in a Single Head Octane2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Checking Your Shipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Checking Your Graphics Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Determining Your IRIX Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Preparing Your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Removing the Cables from the XIO Tri-Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Attaching the Wrist Strap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Removing the XIO Tri-Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Compression Connector Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Connecting the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Reinstalling the XIO Tri-Module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Removing the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2. Installing the DCD in a Dual Head Octane2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Checking Your Shipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Checking Your Graphics Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Preparing Your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Powering Off Your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Removing the Cables from the Dual Head XIO Module . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Attaching the Wrist Strap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

viii 007-4209-003
Contents
Removing the Dual Head XIO Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Compression Connector Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Connecting the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Installing a Second DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Reinstalling the Dual Head XIO Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Removing the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3. Connecting Monitors to the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Connecting the Monitor Cables to the Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Connecting the Monitor Cables to the DCD (Single Head Octane System) . . . . . . . 92
Connecting the Monitor Cables to the DCD (Dual Head Octane System) . . . . . . . 94
Connecting to a DCD on the Primary (Upper) Graphics Head . . . . . . . . . 94
Connecting to a DCD on the Secondary (Lower) Graphics Head . . . . . . . . 96
Connecting the Monitor Cables to the DCD (Silicon Graphics Fuel Workstation) . . . . . 98
Connecting the Monitor Power Cables and Powering On Your Workstation . . . . . 100
Verifying the Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4. Configuring the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Enabling and Disabling the DCD Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Selecting the Buffer Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Specifying the Maximum Size of a Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Resetting Window Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Moving Windows between Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5. Troubleshooting and Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
If Both Monitors are Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Returning Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
A. Care and Cleaning of Compression Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Storing and Handling Compression Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Cleaning Compression Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

007-4209-003 ix
Figures
Figure 1-1 DCD Shipment Components . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Figure 1-2 Powering Off Your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 1-3 Removing the Monitor Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 1-4 Attaching the Wrist Strap . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Figure 1-5 Loosening the XIO Tri-Module Screws . . . . . . . . . 8
Figure 1-6 Releasing the XIO Tri-Module . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Figure 1-7 Removing the XIO Tri-Module . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Figure 1-8 Identifying the Compression Connector . . . . . . . . . 11
Figure 1-9 Placing the XIO Tri-Module on Its Side . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 1-10 Placing a Cap on the XIO Compression Connector. . . . . . 13
Figure 1-11 Removing the Screws from the VPro Graphics Board Blank Panel . 14
Figure 1-12 Removing the VPro Graphics Board Blank Panel . . . . . . 15
Figure 1-13 Installing the Standoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Figure 1-14 Positioning the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 1-15 Seating the DCD On the VPro Graphics Board (front view) . . . 18
Figure 1-16 Seating the DCD On the VPro Graphics Board (side view) . . . 19
Figure 1-17 VPro Locator Tabs Protrude through DCD Locator Slots . . . . 20
Figure 1-18 Securing the DCD to the VPro Graphics Board . . . . . . . 21
Figure 1-19 Securing the DCD to the Standoff . . . . . . . . . . 22
Figure 1-20 Placing the 13W3 Cover over the VPro Graphics Board Monitor
Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Figure 1-21 Installing the 13W3 Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Figure 1-22 Inserting the XIO Tri-Module . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Figure 1-23 Tightening the XIO Tri-Module Screws . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 1-24 Removing the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Figure 1-25 Reinstalling the VPro graphics board Blank Panel . . . . . . 30
Figure 1-26 Removing the 13W3 Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

x 007-4209-003
Figures
Figure 1-27 Connecting a Monitor to the VPro graphics board . . . . . . 32
Figure 2-1 DCD Shipment Components . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Figure 2-2 Powering Off Your Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Figure 2-3 Removing the Monitor Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Figure 2-4 Attaching the Wrist Strap . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Figure 2-5 Loosening the Dual Head XIO Module Screws . . . . . . . 40
Figure 2-6 Releasing the Dual Head XIO Module . . . . . . . . . 41
Figure 2-7 Removing the Dual Head XIO Module . . . . . . . . . 42
Figure 2-8 Identifying the Compression Connector . . . . . . . . . 43
Figure 2-9 Placing the Dual Head XIO Module on Its Side . . . . . . . 44
Figure 2-10 Placing a Cap on the XIO Compression Connector . . . . . . 45
Figure 2-11 Loosening the Center Plastic Knob Clamping Screw . . . . . 46
Figure 2-12 Removing the Center Plastic Knob Retaining Screw . . . . . 47
Figure 2-13 Removing the Nuts and Lock Washers from the Graphics Board
I/O Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Figure 2-14 Removing the Jackscrews from the Graphics Board I/O Panel . . 49
Figure 2-15 Loosening the Heat-Sink Stabilizer Bracket Retaining Screws on
the Graphics Board I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Figure 2-16 Removing the Dual Head XIO Module I/O Panel . . . . . . 51
Figure 2-17 Removing the DCD Blanking Panel . . . . . . . . . . 52
Figure 2-18 Installing the Nylon Standoff . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Figure 2-19 Positioning the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Figure 2-20 Securing the DCD to the Nylon Standoff . . . . . . . . . 55
Figure 2-21 Installing the Dual Head XIO Module I/O Panel . . . . . . 56
Figure 2-22 Installing the Nuts and Lock Washers on the Graphics Board I/O
Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Figure 2-23 Installing the Jackscrews on the Graphics Board I/O Panel . . . 58
Figure 2-24 Installing the Center Plastic Knob Retaining Screw . . . . . . 59
Figure 2-25 Tightening the Center Plastic Knob Clamping Screw . . . . . 60
Figure 2-26 Placing the 13W3 Cover over the VPro Graphics Board Monitor
Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Figure 2-27 Installing the 13W3 Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Figure 2-28 Placing the Primary Head Graphics Boards toward the Top of the
Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Figures
007-4209-003 xi
Figure 2-29 Inserting the Dual Head Module with DCD . . . . . . . 68
Figure 2-30 Latching the Dual Head XIO Module . . . . . . . . . 69
Figure 2-31 Replacing the Dual Head XIO Module Screws . . . . . . . 70
Figure 2-32 Removing the 13W3 Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Figure 2-33 Loosening the Center Plastic Knob Clamping Screw . . . . . 72
Figure 2-34 Removing the Center Plastic Knob Retaining Screw . . . . . 73
Figure 2-35 Removing the Nuts and Lock Washers from the Graphics Board
I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Figure 2-36 Removing the Jackscrews from the Graphics Board I/O Panel . . 75
Figure 2-37 Loosening the Heat-Sink Stabilizer Bracket Retaining Screws on
the Graphics Board I/O Panel . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Figure 2-38 Removing the Dual Head XIO Module I/O Panel . . . . . . 77
Figure 2-39 Removing the DCD Retaining Screw. . . . . . . . . . 78
Figure 2-40 Removing the DCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Figure 2-41 Removing the Nylon Standoff . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Figure 2-42 Installing the Mounting Screw . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Figure 2-43 Installing the DCD Blanking Panel . . . . . . . . . . 82
Figure 2-44 Installing the Dual Head XIO Module I/O Panel . . . . . . 83
Figure 2-45 Installing the Nuts and Lock Washers on the Graphics Board I/O
Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Figure 2-46 Installing the Jackscrews on the Graphics Board I/O Panel . . . 85
Figure 2-47 Installing the Center Plastic Knob Retaining Screw . . . . . 86
Figure 2-48 Tightening the Center Plastic Knob Clamping Screw . . . . . 87
Figure 2-49 Connecting Monitors to the VPro Dual Head Graphics Boards . . 88
Figure 3-1 Connecting the Monitor Signal Cables to the Monitors . . . . 91
Figure 3-2 Connecting the Monitor Signal Cables to the DCD in a Single
Head Octane System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Figure 3-3 Connecting the Monitor Signal Cables to an Upper DCD in a Dual
Head Octane System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Figure 3-4 Connecting the Monitor Cables to a Lower DCD in a Dual Head
Octane System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Figure 3-5 Connecting the Monitor Signal Cables to the DCD in a Silicon
Graphics Fuel Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Figure 3-6 Connecting the Power Cables . . . . . . . . . . . .100

xii 007-4209-003
Figures
Figure 3-7 Hardware Inventory List after Installing the DCD . . . . . 101
Figure 4-1 Graphics Back End Control Window . . . . . . . . . 104
Figure 4-2 Load Confirmation Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . 105
Figure 4-3 Power-On Default Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Figure 4-4 Frame Buffer Confirmation Dialog Box . . . . . . . . 107
Figure 4-5 Log Out Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Figure 4-6 Accumulation Buffer Confirmation Dialog Box . . . . . . 108
Figure 4-7 Overlapping Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Figure 4-8 Moving a Window between Monitors . . . . . . . . 111
Figure A-1 Identifying the Bristled Pad of the Compression Connector . . 117
Figure A-2 Spraying the Compression Connector . . . . . . . . 120

007-4209-003 xiii
Tables
Table 5-1 DCD Troubleshooting Tips . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Table 5-2 DCD Pinout Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

007-4209-003 xv
About This Guide
With the Silicon Graphics Dual Channel Display (hereinafter referred to as “DCD”) you
can expand your viewing area by displaying graphics and text output from one graphics
card to two monitors. You can also use the Dual Channel Display to connect a single
monitor.
This guide shows you how to install the Dual Channel Display in Silicon Graphics
Octane2 workstations, and how to configure and troubleshoot the DCD board in both
Silicon Graphics Octane2 and Silicon Graphics Fuel workstations.
Note: Installation of the Dual Channel Display in a Silicon Graphics Fuel workstation
involves procedures that should only be performed by an SGI-trained technician. This
guide therefore does not describe installation in a Silicon Graphics Fuel workstation, but
does include operating and troubleshooting information for the DCD in a Silicon
Graphics Fuel workstation.
The guide is organized as follows:
Chapter 1, “Installing the DCD in a Single Head Octane2,” shows you how to install the
Octane2 Dual Channel Display in a Single Head Octane2.
Chapter 2, “Installing the DCD in a Dual Head Octane2,” shows you how to install the
Octane2 Dual Channel Display in a Dual Head Octane2.
Chapter 3, “Connecting Monitors to the DCD,” shows you how to connect two monitors
to the DCD once it is installed in an Octane2 or Silicon Graphics Fuel workstation.
Chapter 4, “Configuring the DCD,” explains how to configure the DCD.
Chapter 5, “Troubleshooting and Technical Specifications,” provides troubleshooting
information and technical specifications.

xvi 007-4209-003
About This Guide
Appendix A, “Care and Cleaning of Compression Connectors”, provides information
useful to anyone who works with compression connectors.
Related Publications
The following documents contain additional information that may be helpful:
•Octane2 Workstation Owner's Guide
•Silicon Graphics Fuel Visual Workstation Hardware User’s Guide
•Silicon Graphics Octane2 Dual Head Installation Guide
•Personal System Administration Guide
A copy of this guide and other SGI technical publications are accessible in the SGI
Technical Publications Library. To access the library, see the following website:
http://techpubs.sgi.com/library/.
Product Support
SGI provides a comprehensive range of product support for its products. If you are in
North America and would like support for your SGI supported products, contact the
Technical Assistance Center at [phone]SGI or your authorized service provider. If
you are outside North America, contact the SGI subsidiary or authorized distributor in
your country.
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defined.

About This Guide
007-4209-003 xvii
Reader Comments
If you have comments about the technical accuracy, content, or organization of this
document, send them to SGI. Be sure to include the title and document number of the
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007-4209-003 1
Chapter 1
1. Installing the DCD in a Single Head Octane2
This chapter shows you how to install the DCD in your Octane or Octane2 workstation
with Single Head VPro graphics. The following topics are covered:
• “Checking Your Shipment” on page 2
• “Checking Your Graphics Board” on page 3
• “Determining Your IRIX Version” on page 4
• “Preparing Your Workstation” on page 5
• “Connecting the DCD” on page 12
• “Reinstalling the XIO Tri-Module” on page 25
• “Removing the DCD” on page 28

2 007-4209-003
1: Installing the DCD in a Single Head Octane2
Checking Your Shipment
Make sure your shipment contains the items shown in Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1 DCD Shipment Components
Documentation
Wrist strap
Reversible
screwdriver
DVI/VGA monitor cables
DCD board
Bag of parts
(13W3 cover, screws,
and standoff)